Pierre Baruzy (

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

, 19 May 1897 –

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 17 December 1994) was a manager and French boxing champion.

Biography

Of Italian origin, a descendant of a noble Venetian family, Pierre Barozzi (in French spelled Baruzy), entered the French boxing academy at the age of thirteen, where he was a pupil of Charles Charlemont and was named eleven times French champion of the weightlifting. He participated in the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

, the first Olympics to include a demonstration of French boxing (Savate). In 1930 he became president of the Académie de Boxe Française and in 1937 the last French Championship was held (until its rebirth in 1966) during which he obtained the title of Champion in all categories, beating middle-weight boxer and heavy. Between 1922 and 1935 he obtained eleven championship titles. Pierre Baruzy joined the Resistance during the Second World War. He chaired the "JP workers commission"; Under the Occupation, Baruzy was appointed municipal councilor of Paris in December 1941 by the Minister of the Interior

Pierre Pucheu Pierre Firmin Pucheu (27 June 1899 – 20 March 1944) was a French industrialist, fascist and member of the Vichy government. After his marriage, he became the son-in-law of the Belgian architect Paul Saintenoy. Early years The son of a tailor ...

, and became secretary of the municipal council in 1943. He was president of the Steering Committee of Timken (France) and Chancellor of the CIOS International Academy. As an industrialist he was president of the Compagnie des ASTD and member of the Board for Meules Norton. He was arrested in August 1944 but was awarded the Resistance Medal. He claims in 1972 to have been in contact with General Revers, head of the Army Resistance Organization (ORA) and to have been a member since 1942 of the Buckmaster network. Baruzy claims to have rescued 11 airmen from the Allied forces whose planes were shot down by the

German army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

. His resistance activities earned him the Medal of Freedom from

General Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

in 1945, as well as a second President's Medal from

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

in 1984, making him the only Frenchman to have received medals from two American presidents. He was active since 1945 in the National Committee of the French Organization (CNOF), which he chaired from 1952 to 1957, after having been its general secretary. He gave new impetus to the sport in the postwar period; in 1965 he became the founding president of the French National Boxing Committee which would be replaced in 1975 by the French Boxing Federation Savate (FFBFS e DA). Baruzy received numerous civil and military awards throughout his career. He is buried in the tomb of the Bouillon-Bey family.

Honors

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...

(1945) *

Resistance Medal The Resistance Medal (, ) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 February 1943 "to recognize the ...

(1984)

Note

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baruzy, Pierre 1897 births 1994 deaths Sportspeople from Amiens French male boxers French savateurs French sports executives and administrators French nationalists Recipients of the National Order of Scientific Merit (Brazil) Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Resistance Medal Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Burials at Passy Cemetery 20th-century French sportsmen